Jimbo
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Back to the East Side
FOASTWRNMike has been texting me saying the Conejos is producing. Of course I know one of the reasons is his son is coming and he wants me there too. I have about a week left here before I head back. Today I would return to the East Side and fish a creek that has produced some really fantastic fishing. But today I have decided to do a little hiking to fish the upper reaches where I’ve never been before. So with several hours drive it was time to get going.
The Snake is looking better today…..
Pointed towards my creek…..
Beautiful little valley…..
Here I’m in the lower valley…..
I still had some driving to do before I reached a spur that lead to the trailhead where I would start.
I finally arrived and it’s kinda spooky. The forest here is dense and dark. I put extra water, lunch, goretex jacket, along with the usual things in my vest for a long day. I decided on my Sage 576LL for my stick and headed down the trail…..
At first the trail went up over a ridge and then started dropping dramatically into my FOASTWRN creek’s valley.
About a mile later I popped out and got my first look up here.It looks great !!! I hiked down a little ways before starting upstream.
I started with the new yellow Chubby and I caught a nice Brookie right off.
There is one thing for sure, Brookies do not lack for vibrant colors.
I am hoping that today I will find more Cutthroats in the upper valley because the higher they are in the watershed, the more resilient the population. The water looks pristine !!!
Right there behind the bush on the right bank. I’ve got to get a fly in there…..
And it is producing……
I keep my head up, studying the water for holding areas…..
I suspect something is right in the middle of those three dead willows in the middle of the stream…..It’s also time to try different colors, sizes, and patterns. Maybe I’ll tie on something the Cutts will hit.
Well fish are pulling it under, except they are all Brookies so far. Hope springs eternal….
The clouds are building and it’s about noon…..
Maybe the Cutts will come out and play in the shade…..
Not yet…..
Oh yeah !!!
Looks like perfect habitat for a Cutthroat…..Just look at the hole behind the willow,… and all that shade
Hummmm…..
I’ve seen a bunch of bear tracks this summer.
Fortunately no face to face encounters !
I am really liking this Sage 576LL. It’s a little gusty today in the valley. The 5wt. really helps cutting through the wind. And the 7 1/2 foot length is perfect for those close in spots that you have to land the attractors right in “There”, and nothing less than that will do. Yeap,… it’s working out fine !
I keep moving upstream hoping for a Cutthroat….
And the Brookies keep getting there first.
Another prime ambush spot…..Another fish pulls it under…..
At least they are looking healthy…..
The geology here reflects the past…..
It looks like annual deposits in the bottom of a lake made these rocks.
The cobble is brightly colored and a contrast to the Brookie cutting through the water.My time here is waning. It will take more than an hour just to hike down the valley. Then I had to go back up over the ridge and out the other side to the trailhead where the Escape is parked. A few more runs to cast to…..
Hopes were high at the first sight of this valley.
I caught a bunch of Brookies and most of them were 8-12″. But I didn’t have a single Cutthroat come to hand.
I suspect they are here. I have caught many of them lower in the valley. Maybe it’s the sun? Maybe they would come out at dusk? I just don’t know? Well I may not have caught the big Cutts I was looking for here, but I did have fun with all the decent sized Brookies. And the scenery was gorgeous ! I will try this again another summer. And I bet I will catch some good Cutts up here next time.Time to head back…..
Working down the trail
Starting back up the slope
After more time than I expected, the truck comes back into view
I drove back to where I normally fish.
Why not give it 15 minutes and see what I can do.
Well there you go. Today the Brookies pitched a shutout.
Time to skidaddle
As I drive out of the national forest the winds really pick up
The storms are racing out of the mountains and across the plains…..
The light is right and rainbows signal the end of the day
I’m headed back to Afton the storms seem to be moving as fast as the truck
I’m glad I’m not underneath that one trying to hike my way back to the truck!
Again I an trying to make heads or tails about these creeks on the East Side. Are they in trouble or are the Cutthroats just hanging on to the bottom waiting for dawn and dusk to feed? I really wish I knew?
Jimbo
Oops, yes River Rose ! Too many years on the river and a confusion of so many names of sites that have come and gone.
Jimbo
It’s probably the mayflys, Mid to larger sizes, and the caddis are in greatest abundance right now. I am talking from experience over many years. I have not fished since March 15th. But if it’s anything like previous years, now is the time to be on the water. Keep it up, I am really enjoying these posts!
Jimbo
The East Side of the Wyoming Range.
So rested and refreshed I was ready to travel around and through the Snake River Gap to revisit one of my favorite Creeks on the east side North Cottonwood. Back when I first started fishing around here, this creek was flush with Cutthroats. The report from local Fly Shops had these creeks in decline. Today I would see for myself.
Headed north and one of the coolest homes in the Star Valley…..
I’m in Real Estate, and this is a 1950’s neo-modern architectural design and quite unusual style for such a rural setting.
The Snake had a glacial green tint to it…..Turning north and running along the Hoback River valley…..
Further up the valley I could see it was the Hoback running dirty green from recent rains.
This is not surprising to me. If you read my story from last September about fishing here then you remember about the Fire in the upper Hoback. It started September 15th and I saw it a couple days later returning from the east side. I came over Rim Station and could look right down into the upper Hoback. The entire valley was ablaze, rim to rim, it still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck just thinking about it. That fire eventually grew to over 60,000 acres and wasn’t really contained until Mother Nature stepped in with heavy rains in early October.
Here is a picture of the remains of that fire, that closed 191 for awhile…..Down in the Green River basin they were repairing some bridges which slowed me down awhile.
They used portable signal lights to let you know when to stop and when to go over these spots down to one lane. Clever !!!
Good time for a little snack !!!!
First sight of the Wind River Range…..
Turning west again on Cottonwood/Ryegrass Road you get a couple of miles of pavement.
Then it turns to gravel and it’s 21 miles still to the national forest boundary.
Some rare White Lupins
First good look at the Wyoming Range
Of course it’s Wyoming, high plains and sagebrush, but what’s missing?
Of course,… Antelope !
Well here I am…..
Time to park the truck, gear up, and see what shape the creek is in…..
The water’s a little low, but still looks good….
The first fish is a little Brookie.
I fished for another hour or so and only caught 3 more little Brookies.
Not Good ! It was much like last September here, just Brookies in a creek that used to be full of Cutthroats.So back to the truck to look for a better spot.
I drove further up the valley towards the headwaters.
I got there and went down to check it out. The water was very shallow. I did not see so much as a hole 2 foot deep for a long time. The only fish I caught were Brookies from 2-4″. Some of which I launched into the willows never to be seen again, barbless you know. Time to leave the basin today. I am not sure if this is unusual or the norm now, but today I caught no Cutts in North Cottonwood.
Good news is there are several other creeks close by. So back to the truck again. This time I drove over to South Cottonwood Creek.
I was trying one of this year’s Chubby’s new colors…..
A nice sized Brookie, but still not my intended target species !
I stuck with my mantra,
“Keep moving and good things will happen !”More Brookies…..
At least these have some size to them.
I keep moving and I came to this piece of water.
I caught a good Cutthroat right here last year.
Lightning strikes again…..
And a nice fat one at that…..
Another piece with possibilities…..
The Royal Chubby getting it done…..
Well now things over here seem pretty good.
Maybe it was the water, maybe it was just the time of day…..
I cast my fly right where the currents come back together. This guy hammered it !
This guy was just perfect…..
Everything is all better now…..
Keep moving, keep casting, stay ready !!!
And another Cutthroat in the net…..
There was weather to the west and headed my way.
Not much time left.
A couple more Brookies rounded out the day.
I had a good 2 1/2 hour drive back to my room and it was time to get going.
Headed west down Cottonwood/Ryegrass…..
I trying to digest today and understand what is happening on the East Side.
Was this just a bad day or wrong time fishing North Cottonwood? Whatever I think Wyoming Fish and Game needs to take a look at this creek and give it the attention it deserves. They done a great job on La Barge Creek restoring the Colorado cutthroats there and maybe it’s time for them to start working on some of the other east slope creeks.
One thing for sure I wanted more time to fish and investigate the other creeks over here. But to do it right I needed weeks, not days to do it. I checked in back home and my yard pass was still good, but I was beginning to feel I may be taking advantage of the situation now. I decided to come back tomorrow and check another creek over here that is FOASTWRN status. It’s another creek where I have landed honest 20″ Cutthroats. I’ll give it a shot and see how it’s faired these last few years.
Jimbo
Sunday
A day of Rest
Well,… kindaSo my dirty cloths were piling up. My shoulder was still suffering from bursitis…..
Time to do some laundry and kick back !And most importantly I could watch the NHRA race. Some of you know what a big racing fan I am.
F1, Nascar, Indy Car, Endurance Racing like Le Mans, Motocross, Superbike, Hydroplanes, you name it!
If it goes fast I’ve always been interested. I really miss the Unlimited Planes racing around the pilons at Reno.
Well this weekend the NHRA was at Seattle. John Force is “The Best there ever is going to Be”. And this weekend he did something all his fans have been waiting for him to do. He won his 150th Race !!!! That’s 150 overall races in Funny Car and not just round wins. And there is nobody even close. And there will probably never be any other driver get close to his record. He is still racing and has a competitive car and team. There’s no telling how many more he will win to add to this record. Oh and he has won 16 Championships personally along the way another NHRA record!!!!God Bless you John Force and I hope you win many more !!!!
Jimbo
Rinse and Repeat
So I forgot to drink some Gatorade last night before going to bed. I woke up with cramps in my calves about 3am and they kept me up for some time, before I hydrated enough for them to relax, and me get back to sleep. I woke up about 10:30am. I was slow to get going today after shaking off the night’s grogginess. It was after noon before I was ready to head out. I thought that my scheduled trip to the east side of the Wyoming Range was now too far away. I decided to go back to Day One’s spot and see what kind of number I could rack up.
So I jumped in the truck and headed up the hill. Upon arriving everything looked great and I saw no other fishermen working the water. I opened up the rear hatch and pulled on my wading boots. I looked for my wading belt and staff to grab…..
But where was it?…
Oh my, I had walked into the room last night still wearing them.
I dare not fish without my wading belt and staff to help me along,….
So…..Back to Afton, grab my belt and staff off the bed where I had left them, then turn around and head back to this creek. Good thing it’s only about 25 minutes one way. So parked on the side of the creek, I grabbed my wading belt with the staff, strapped it on, pulled on my vest, and pulled my beloved 4711 out of the back still strung up.
NOW I’M READY !!!
Let’s get wet !Like I’ve said before this is a numbers creek…..
Where would you cast your fly ?
Maybe along the bank on the right side ?
How about here ?
If you said on the left bank behind those rocks…
Yeap, they were biting. Most of these fish were on cutbanks or behind big rocks in deep water in the middle.
Again, matching my smaller quarry with a lighter rod makes this game so rewarding…..
What can I add about this place I haven’t already said…..
It’s a place you can casually fish, and have a fabulous time…..
It’s a place that’s on the must fish list everytime I’m fishing out of Afton…..
Here you go with what this creek can offer…..
You fill in the blanks…..
You liking this ?
How about on the inside of this bend ?
Yeap…..
How about along the willows hiding in the shadows ?
After a short battle wrestling the Cutt from beneath those willows,… he’s mine !
Here
‘s one of those deeper water in the middle places…..Fish On…..
This is my kind of relaxation…..
It’s 6pm and time for one last fish…..
The fly drifts back along the left seam and disappears in a little splash…..
That makes 40 ! And today that is enough.
Headed back to Afton I decided doing one more thing before returning to my room.
PIZZA !!!!!!!!!!!!
A large, hand tossed, Italian Sausage, Tomato, Onion, with extra sauce !!!
PERFECT !!!!
Now excuse me while I stuff my face.Jimbo
One of the Best
So if this area has been suffering from drought, I thought it best to keep visiting familiar waters to see what they are like. Today I would visit one of the Best Creeks around. This place is a Big Fish creek, but I’ve also had days landing over 25, so it has the best of the best potential.
It would take several hours to reach this creek, so I did start early. I cruised by the local Burger King for some breakfast and saw something I’ve never seen here before…..
Can you guess what I’m looking at?
The hint,…. Cold air and warm water.
It was in the 30’s this morning and that’s the Salt River with fog hanging over it.Covering ground with a purpose now…..
The beginning of the Forest Roads…..
Dreaming about all the private lands that I’ll never fish…..
Making tracks…..
The last few yards….
I came to the top of the hill and my usual parking area……
AND…..A whole lot of company. What is going on?
I looked down into the valley and I could see at least 5 anglers fishing the very area I wanted to start this time.I looked over at the junction of the creeks and saw at least another 15 vehicles, tents, and pop-ups.
My little piece of paradise is no longer a secret. Well I’m here and the next nearest place is another hour away. This will be a true test of what these waters can produce. Later I ran into some of these anglers and talked to them.
They were from Salt Lake City and this was their third year of coming here. They were both flyfishermen and gear anglers and had been here two days. I asked them about the fishing and they said they’d caught some, but fewer than previous years. This is all starting to make sense to me now. I am running into more and more people here these last few years and the results were showing this increased pressure. This was my ninth year coming here, so I guess I too am a relative newcomer that the old timers would consider as hogging their spot.I had wanted to try some of that water further down the valley this time, but like I said there were already a bunch of people down there, and I didn’t want to be “that guy” that walked in front of them and fish the water they were headed for,… So…..
I started in the water they were finished with and headed in the opposite direction upstream.
I’ve caught a bunch of good fish in this water before and was hoping for the best.
I stuck to my attractors: chubbys, Peacock ParaX, and hoppers in different sizes and colors.
I have covered a bunch of water and had seen no fish at all. I know those other anglers must have been through this water earlier in the morning. I’m wondering if they hooked a bunch and put the rest down. That’s the way it is sometimes and I was at least the sixth guy through this water this morning. I needed to keep moving and eventually I would be on water that hadn’t seen any anglers for awhile.I guess I finally reached that point…..
Not exactly what I have come to expect here, but it was a Cutthroat, and I caught him on a dry.
Keep moving and good things can happen…..Well that’s better.
It was a good stretch before I saw another fish…..
I once caught a 20″+ Cutt here…..
Not this time.
I came upon another angler and talked to him for awhile. He said he had caught some smaller fish on nymphs. He said that noone in his group had caught anything close to 20″ so far and some of the group were dedicated streamer fishermen and some spin fishermen. I told about my past experiences here and the fact I fished only drys. I showed him some of the attractors I used, and he thought they were too big to catch these Cutts. I didn’t want to tell him he was wrong, so I told that I had some smaller flys and maybe I would try them. I asked him if some of his group had fished up the stream that lay ahead of me. Yeap, there were at least a dozen working up since early in the morning. I thanked him and wished him luck.
Great, I’m still fishing behind who knows how many?
Well no time like the present, so I needed to keep moving and looking for some active feeders.I finally found some…..
I la
nded a second fish a few moments later…..It was afternoon now and getting closer to the major feeding times by the Solar/Lunar Charts.
This is another spot where I caught a 20″er. I also lost a fish here that would have been about 24″ years ago. I worked the tailout where it comes away from the willow bank first. After that I made some casts along the cutbank without a strike. Then about half way to the drop and turn, there’s a hole on the softer inside water. I made a good first cast and the fly disappeared. I was glad I was using the Scott 5wt. The fish pulled hard. I was surprised when I first saw it. I thought it was bigger. After a few tense moments I had it in the net…..
The best one so far…..
At the top of the drop another……
A pretty fish…..
Moving up into the next run.
There are several big rocks and holes on the far side in this run…..
And there were fish ready willing and able.
A second fish here and I am starting to feel better about the day.
I was getting closer to the top of the valley and still had not seen the big group of anglers fishing ahead of me.
Another little guy…..
As I moved up around the bend I heard some voices.
There they were.
It was about 5pm now. If there were a dozen anglers in this group there was no getting around them. Well I landed a dozen with the largest at least 16″. A little below expectations for an average day here. But with so many others here pounding the water I thought I actually did fine.
This is cattlemen country and they had their own way of claiming it as their own.
It’s a good stretch of the legs back to where I parked the truck.
I went past the camp of all those guys from Utah…..Here’s one of the reasons I don’t drive down to the lower meadow…..
Maybe next time there will be fewer anglers sharing this water…..
I guess I got spoiled by all the days I did have this creek all to myself.
And those were some of the best days when I crushed it.
Unfortunately I can’t count on that anymore.The long road back to town…..
I guess I need to get used to more company. I also need to keep pushing the limits and explore more water. I need to keep pushing further into the backcountry to find those new fabulous spots.
Something to think about.
Jimbo
Time to release a few more….
On to Wyoming
So I was up early for the drive to Wyoming. For once Mike was up first and the coffee was ready. Fueled with a couple cups of French Press, I had the truck loaded and headed out of camp before 8am. It’s another long day behind the wheel, driving over 800 miles from Mogote Campground to Afton Wyoming.
Many CDs were played as I traveled across 5 states….
Starting in Colorado, dip into New Mexico, back into Colorado, then Utah, Idaho, and finally Wyoming.Heavy rains going over Soldier Pass, Utah.
There were a few delays involving highway repairs and one lane for traffic traveling in both directions.
I arrived in Afton at 10:30pm.The next morning I slept in and I needed it. When I got up at 10am it was still in the 40’s outside. So I took my time getting organized and decided on a favorite Cutthroat Creek. I put on my Simms wet wading gear and grabbed some breakfast. After having so many days where my catches were in the single digits, I knew this was one of the places I could rack up a number. So I pointed the truck uphill and was there by noon.
This little Creek is not a Big Fish Creek, it’s a numbers creek. Now I have caught a few Cutthroats here to 16″, most days the big ones are 13-14″ and fish averaging 9-12″. So I chose one of my favorite rods a Sage LL 4711.
This little gem will handle my #8 Chubbys as easily as it does a #22 BWO and still make these little fish feel like a Big Dog.
As I walked down through the meadow, waves of grasshoppers jumped out ahead of my every footstep.
I am thinking to myself, this could be an epic day !It didn’t take me long to select a tan Morrish Hopper.
And it didn’t take long for the Cutts to find it……I love this little creek !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s like slipping into clean sheets after a long day.
So comfortable !Again these guys, although small, put up a terrific fight.
This guy is just about as a perfect specimen as is possible.
And again it’s just not the fish, this creek has a bunch of good water, and you can cast to most of it.
I’ve been a bunch of places where there are good fish there, if you could just get your flys to them.
This place is generally open, allowing for full casts. Room on your backcast, and not too much overhanging brush protecting the fish lying in the shadows.Then there is that another thing that has been limiting my summer’s adventure
Yeap, the monsoons had caught up with me in Wyoming.
I still had a little time before it really came down.More miles, more smiles…..
A clap of thunder now had my attention…..
Not even 2 hours in the creek and I had to go.
But in that time I landed 19 Cutts. I felt rejuvenated.I climbed out of the creek, hustled across the meadow, and arrived at the truck just as this stuff started coming down…..
I headed back to Afton…..
Looking back at where I was fishing…..
Coming back to my room so early gave me plenty of time to think about where I was going to fish here in Wyoming.
I went by the local Fly Shop to gather intel on what was happen in the creeks and rivers up here. Seems the last two years of drought had taken a toll on some of the watersheds. The Green drainages seemed to have been impacted the most. The Salt and Grey were the better bets. Considering I have done about half my fishing on the creeks that drain into the Green that was bad news. I was going to do some exploring in new creeks over there this year and now that was in doubt. So I spent the evening looking at my maps and then looking closer on Google Maps. I decided to revisit some more familiar waters the next few days to get a feel for the impact on productive places I knew.Jimbo
J.C. What you are looking at are this years’ natural spawn. The ones Ron released were all very small, smaller than normal. I bet there wasn’t any over 2 1/2″ and no way they would grow to 5″ in no more than a month. Thanks for reporting. I will pass this up the line and see if TPWD wants to look into it.
Jimbo
Gypsy Rose: 306@Guadalupe
Barking Dog Pool:#5 think 200 yards below the weir in front of the Saunders Home
Lower slot:#5 all the way down and just above S Turn Rapids
Kanz: Gypsy Rose, downstream, below both weirs.
Jimbo
The Hidden Mile
So one more day camping with Mike on the Conejos before heading up to Wyoming. We’ve fished here before in the previous years and caught some good ones. I also lost a monster Brown here that I could not stop. It went over the top of a wing dam and cut the tippet. I was hoping for a rematch…..
We slept in I again, not worrying about fishing the morning being so cold. There was one other vehicle at the parking area but nothing to worry about here. I mentioned the number of benchmarks I’d been running into this year…..
Well add another !
We made it to the rivers’ edge…..
Looking around we could see the other anglers down at the lower end of the access. We would fish upstream from here. I am still trying to force feed them a Salmonfly in the morning. There were some big rocks in the middle of the river creating excellent holding and ambush spots. I cast to these spots and had another big blow-up and another very short fight.
I can not believe I am staring at another hook that broke it’s point off in a Trout!!!!
That’s two this summer !!!I crossed the river. Mike would work up the forest road side and myself the other. The first bend I came to I saw Brown working the slack water. Mike had already blown past me going upstream. The first fly another foam Salmonfly didn’t even draw a look. One thing I’ve learned here, if these fish see the fly and don’t take it, another drift or two won’t make a difference. So I am into my presentation rotation. Next fly a Split Flag, a look but no strike. Third fly a Green Drake, a look but no strike. The fourth fly a March Brown,…. The fish turned and followed it downstream a good 8 feet or so. It looked like he was coming up to take the fly off the surface, but ended up just being another explosion of water droplets. Again I think the fish saw me standing there before eating and changed it’s mind. After that the fish disappeared. So I was moving up the bank again looking for another.
That’s when I saw Mike motioning me to come up river where he was standing, albeit on the other side of the river.
He told me he had landed two of three strikes here. I asked where and he said the middle of the river. I asked what kind and he said they were small Browns. But he also said he could see fish rising on my side and couldn’t reach them. I asked what he was using and he said a Elk Hair Caddis.
I moved carefully up the bank looking for a rise form.
Just in front of this rock sticking out I could see, not just one, but a couple of fish rising.
Of course that’s when I first heard the thunder rolling down the valley. Just over the hill on my left were some really dark clouds. I didn’t have much time left.I switched out my fly for a Split Flag which so far had been my best Big Fish fly here. It sure saved the day last year when we were fishing the Conejos. It would have it’s chance again.
I got into casting position and watched for another rise. There he was again…..
So give it a little time to settle to the bottom and start looking up.
OK,… I’m ready. First cast lined up perfect landing about four feet above the last rise. The fly was coming back nicely. Then I saw the fish rise from the bottom to take a look. It kept coming, broke the surface, took the fly and turned down sharply. I came tight and the rod loaded up. This fish had some power. This was another up-close and personal fight. I could see the fish the whole time never more than 25′ from where I was standing. It launched itself about 3 feet clear of the surface. Mike let out a whoop from the other side of the river that I think those guys a 1/4 mile downstream could have heard. I got the leader in the rod tip and he still had a few moves left before I could pull him in scooping range. He was rolling and thrashing down just beyond my toes and still I could not reach him. I flipped the rod from upstream sideways pull to a downstream sideways pull and that worked. He was in range and I scooped him up.This was a Big Fish,… long and heavy.
I know in this picture it does not look like anything special, but it was. It was “Too Big” to try a single handed lift for a selfie. I shouted at Mike I needed for him to cross so I could get a picture. Silence followed for a few seconds and then we both started laughing. There are very few places to cross the river at these flows and we both knew it. One thing I noticed was this fish had a hernia. A distinguishing feature I thought to myself.
Again this fish was folded up in the net and doesn’t look that big here does it? I pulled out of the net and it easily surpassed the 20″ mark on the rod, for best guess 21″+, a little head with big shoulders. I slid it back into the water and watched swim off.
I inspected the fly and it was good. I blew off the water and re-applied floatant. I looked upstream and studied the water for the other fish. It took a couple of minutes, but another fish rose about another 15′ further upstream. Again I waited a few seconds before making my cast. The first drifted over the spot and nothing happened. I cast again. The second cast drifted over the spot… and nothing happened. I cast again. The third drift was on the money. I saw the fish rise up off the bottom. He didn’t take it right away. He turned and followed it for a couple of feet. Then he moved quickly and took it off the surface. This guy jumped immediately. Then he ran into the center of the river. My “Audience of One” shouting encouragement from the other side. Once I got this one coming towards me, I kept heavy pressure on him. I pulled the net and scooped him up still green. He started thrashing in the net not knowing there was no way to escape his entrapment.
And check this out…..That’s my fly in the corner of it’s jaw and just slightly forward of mine is a Stimulator. Someone else had a bad day and lost this fish recently. I pulled both flys out and tried for a selfie…..
He kind of folded up in my hand. This bug-eyed fish was a good 19″, but short of the 20″ mark.
After it’s release I studied the water again for a couple minutes, but no other fish rose. I sat down and checked the tippet. It needed replacement. As I sat on the bank some of my little friends climbed aboard….
Turning around and looking in the bushes they were everywhere…..
Again I am amazed that every fish in the river is not looking for these bugs.
Having finished refreshing my rig, I started making some casts and drifts again without results.
I moved up the bank to the next good looking spot…..A blink of intense light, followed by crackling thunder meant it was time to go… NOW !
I hustled down the bank to the place I could make my crossing back to the other side. It started to sprinkle on us making our way across the field to the Escape. We threw our stuff inside and started down FR 250. As we turned on to Hwy 17 it started to rain. We beat the rain back to camp and secured everything before the skies opened up there.
Mike needed to drive into Antonito to talk to his wife who was handling the sale of one of their properties. I stayed in camp to watch everything as it started come down. I took a seat from beneath the tarp we had stretched over the tent. It worked perfectly and I stayed dry as it came down.
The storm moved down the valley and blue skies once again appeared in the west…..
As soon as it stopped raining I started taking inventory of all my gear.
I would be leaving tomorrow morning for Afton Wyoming. It was going to be a long day in the saddle and getting ready tonight would make tomorrow morning that much easier. Mike came back, we opened another bottle, and talked about the big ones I had landed. We pulled out the boombox for another round of rock music. But the drive system had failed. And after just 40 years or so of service, the Sony had played it last CD.
Jimbo
Bear Creek Access
It was still cold in the mornings. This morning I saw 39 on the thermometer, so no need to jump out of the sleeping bag at first light. Finally Mike was up and the coffee was on. He was interested in the Bear Creek access. This is one of the places the guide had pointed out to Mike and we were trying to cover as much of this public water as possible, so time to check it out.
We arrived and looked upstream from the campground’s bridge there. I still had my foam Salmonfly tied on from yesterday.
I dropped down just above the bridge and cast along the bank.
I saw the Brown dart out from behind a boulder and take the fly. Some say it’s bad luck to land a fish on the first cast. I say that’s nonsense! The fish don’t know if it’s the first cast or the 100th. Well the fish ran out into the main current, tired there and in short order was in the net.It’s another Brown with a blue halos on it’s gill plate……
Yes,… First Cast…..
I love first cast Trout !!!!!!!!!!
Well it was Mike’s turn and he headed up the same bank…..
I needed to replace the tippet, so I just watched for awhile and retied my rig.
I decided to fish my foam fly behind him as he was still fishing the Drake.Just in front of where you see that root wad sticking out I had another explosive strike.
The Foam Salmonfly strikes again…..Yea,.. he wanted it…..
So maybe the Salmonfly bite is a morning thing.
It’s working out so far today !
Lot’s of good looking water in front of us…..
Mike giving it the good ole’ college try…..
He was still fishless.
I got to this spot…..
I’m thinking there has to be some hungry fish on the inside of that current seam.
They didn’t want the Foam, so I switched to the Brown Drake myself.
A few casts later I was on.
This one came in pretty fast.The fly’s in the prefect spot…..
I was pretty sure there was another fish or two in the inside eddy. So I called to Mike to come up and give it a try.
Sure enough a few casts later he was hooked up!
And unfortunately it came off. I offered more encouragement. There has to be another fish there. I was standing about 20 feet behind him and another 8 feet or so to the inside, right next to the willows.
Mike tried using a side arm cast and this was the result…..Yeap he didn’t wait on the backcast and over powered the forward motion before the backcast straighten out…..
The fly whipped around and stabbed me in an old scar from riding motorcycles in the streets with cars…..
Well,… I’ll live.Mike still had point and was moving up the bank.
I got above him and shot some pictures…..
And right on cue I see a bent rod…..
It was a deep slippery bank and the fish took off downstream.
Mike was yelling…..
“I’m gonna need your help.”So I worked my way back downstream and looked for a way through the willows below him.
I found an opening and got in the river below Mike. This fish was foul hooked also. Mike was having real trouble trying to get it anywhere close to the bank and my net. It was still about 10 feet out when the hook pulled. Mike couldn’t find luck if it was in a shoebox and he had a flashlight today.
Well Mike was ready for lunch which was back in the truck.
While we were munching on our Jelly and Peanutbutter sandwiches roadside, I looked down on the ground.
I’ve seen some strange looking Grasshoppers, but never an solid orange one ! Never Ever !!!
We drove up the road talking and looking at other access points. Several had multiple vehicles already parked there. We came to the original guide spot again, no vehicles, so we pulled over and hurried down to the river.
The river was lower today, so Mike crossed and I fished up the Hwy side. I was tired today and I guess I was more into watching than fishing here.
I did make some casts, but I just watched Mike for a good long while.
He worked his way up to the fenceline. Mike had a few fish come up, but none made it to the net.
It was time to try another spot.Mike then remembered a piece of public water just above the Hwy 17 bridge. You had to snake your way into the parking area off the Elk Creek Campground road. We arrived and there was two bait fishermen leaning against the railing on the old abandoned Hwy bridge with their lines out. I decided to go all the way down to the new bridge and work my way back upstream.
I wasn’t really concentrating, more like going through the motions without thinking.
My back was sore and so was my casting shoulder. I reeled up and went looking for Mike.The good news is Mike finally landed a couple here. It was late and we headed back to the campground. Time to open a bottle and put on dinner. I started a fire and we kicked back to enjoy the evening. Mike started chatting away about the Browns he finally put in the net. Which was a lot better than him sitting around stewing over the fish he lost. Catching had put the conversation back in Mike. It was partly cloudy in the evening and the crescent moon backlit the clouds. The diffused light shown down and it was brighter than it should have been. We pulled out my old Sony boombox and rocked out to CDs like ZZ Top’s “Eliminator” and Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”.
You know,…the good Stuff !Jimbo
The Conejos Take II
So I went back to Pagosa for the night, took a shower, and packed up to check out the next morning. Then It was back to Mogote Campground on the Conejos. Going back up to Cumbres…..
The Los Pinos Basin and headed east…..
Coming down into the Conejos Basin…..
One of the switchbacks…..
I arrived at our campsite about 11am. Mike was ready to go.
He wanted another crack at the place we fished yesterday.This time I would go to the bottom of the access and he would fish from half-way up.
The Salmonflys were still everywhere, that had not changed.Neither had their reluctance to come up and eat a few of them. I gave the attractors a try, but quickly switched to the Brown Drakes again.
I did not see any fish rising. Not surprising since the major was occurring about 3pm. Still I worked the water like I was going to hook a fish on the next cast. But none rose…..
A little bit further upstream I was fishing this riffle.
I worked from the soft water inside first, then gridding the surface, and covering all possible lies out into the main current. Out in the current, somewhere I thought there was little chance for a fish, the drake disappeared, and the line went tight. I never saw a thing, it just happened. The fish moved upstream against the current. It was almost too easy at first. I walked up on the fish to recover all that line he pealed off. Then he got cleaver and bolted downstream around me. I was reeling like mad and at the same time running downstream, trying to get below him. For awhile all I was doing was staying even. Then he turned upstream and I once again I was in control. A few moments later, exhausted, he started coming back to me. It was easy to net him then.
A good fish to start with !
Swimming off to thrill the next angler.
It wasn’t 2 minutes later I heard Mike yell for help.
He couldn’t turn the fish and it was coming downstream fast with Mike in tow. I got in the river to try and block it from getting downstream of me. As it drew close I could see it was foul-hooked. No wonder he couldn’t turn it.
There were some moments, me in the water with the net, Mike trying to hold his ground, and this Trout with the hook in it’s anal fin going where it pleased. With his head free, I was having a devil of a time trying to get it in the net. When I got close the fish would lunge and be out of range. He tried to go around my legs at one time and then came from behind me and swam between my legs coming out in front. Here I made a big scoop and lifted it free of the water.Mike was on the board.
After releasing the fish Mike went upstream and I attempted to cross to the other side. I went upstream in the riffle and as I approached the far side it got deeper and faster. I was stuggling to push off the gravel which was collapsing under my feet. The wading staff really helped and I made it across without floating my hat.
There was a braid on this side I wanted to fish.
I was working my way upstream and I saw a brown rise. Again there was a root wad, embedded in the bank, and the Brown taking advantage of the soft water below it. It took several casts to get the drift right, but the first time the fly drifted along the current seam, that Brown ate it. I came tight and it thrashed around for a second before bolting upstream. The Bad news, the trunk was still attached to the root wad and it was sticking out into the middle of the braid. That Brown ran underneath it and I could feel that wood sawing on the connection. I saw the fish jump on the other side of it. My line snaked to and under the trunk and then turned upstream to where the Brown jumped. It was only a matter of time before the leader broke.
Game over,… thank you for participating. Would you like to try again?
Well on closer inspection only about 4 feet of butt section was left and it was trashed. Time to rebuild the entire leader. That gave me some time to evaluate what had happened. And really after it ran under and through the woody debris, there was no way I could have pulled it back through and out the downstream side. I tied on another Brown Drake and started to look for the next fish.
About half-way up the braid I found another hole and riffle. It took just a cast or two there to have a Cuttbow slam my fly. This sucker was like an Olympic weight lifter. It was amazingly strong for it’s size. And thick,… Some fish are described as looking like a football. This fish’s picture should be in the dictionary to illustrate the concept. I mean I using 4x with a Scott Radian 9′ 5wt and not making much an impression on this fish. I fought it for a good 2 or 3 minutes, real time, before I got it to my side and in the net. What a Fish !!! I removed the hook and reached for my camera. I don’t know how he did it, but he jumped out of the net while I was holding it above the water. Man I wanted a picture of that fish, my first Cuttbow of the trip, and unbelievably perfect speciem !!!!!!!!!
Oh well, check the fly and tippet, blow the water off, and reapply floatant. I was ready again…..
Now at the top of the braid where it split from the main channel I knew this was a good holding spot.
Several drifts later the fly vanished. This one wasn’t as strong, but it was no slouch either. There was no woody debris to contend with and I had him in the net in short order.Another good Brown ! So that made it four hooked, three landed, and picrures of two of them.
From there I went up the bank of the main channel on my side.
There was plenty of good holding water; deeper pockets, big rocks with eddys behind them, little drops, all good stuff. I would have guessed I would have caught a couple more, like I did on the other side yesterday.
I was wrong about that, zero strikes, zero looks…..One thing I am running into more bench marks on this trip than ever before. I haven’t really been counting them, but this is like my fourth. I turned around and headed back downstream. Mike was working the riffle in the main channel across from that spot I did so well yesterday.
He said he had a few fish on, but landed only one more.
A Salmonfly doing what they do on water.They don’t so much float as walk and fly their way across the surface.
It was getting late.
I crossed the river fairly easily since I was moving downstream this time. I walked up the bank and Mike had started up the hill already.
Like I said it’s a steep and rough trail back up and out of the river here.
Steep for sure !!!
It wasn’t even 6pm, but Mike was tired and ready to get some dinner.
Mushrooms everywhere…..
But I’m still not testing my luck with them.
Back at camp we had spaghetti and another Malbac.
And maybe a bit late in the day, but a shower moved through…..
It didn’t last long and it cleared before the sun went down. It was another night of amazing fish stories, stargazing, and counting satillites.
Jimbo
Day 2
Dangling the CarrotHard to tell from yesterday’s fishing what is was going to be like today. We were up early and coffee was brewed to motivate us to get going. We warmed up some Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches to fill our bellies and we were ready for Day 2. One thing Mike had done while being guided was to ask a lot of questions about all the public water. The guide had spent a bunch of time driving him around and showing him where we could fish. That was money well spent!
Today we would start at place called Sheep Creek.
That’s what you want to see on public waters…..
Mike agrees….
We would be fishing upstream from here.
I was still trying to get some fish to see my Chubby and come up and slam it. There were certainly enough Salmonflys in the air. There were also a few goldens and some other smaller stonefly. It is obvious these fish are starving, but it would be encouraging to see a few eat the naturals off the surface.
We were not seeing much so we would just cast to likely holding areas and hope for the best.
We hop-scotched our way upstream…..Our dryflys were not being bothered, but we kept the faith and sent them out time and time again.
The first raindrops came down in a brief shower.These guys were everywhere…..
Just stand near the water and you’d have a few landing on you and crawling up your legs. It almost made you think the fish must not like the taste of them. Each fish we landed was certainly well fed and fat as a butterball. But what were they eating and when?
I made it up to the bridge and further up the valley another storm gathering strength. I was working the inside when a little Brown ate the chubby. In short order it was at my feet. I swung it up with my rod and it shook like it was being electrocuted, like fish sometimes do. The hooked popped out and the little Brown fell back into the water. I turned downstream to find Mike as it started raining, it was about 11am. I put on my rain jacket and hiked down the bank. I found Mike and we hustled back to the truck as the rain gathered strength. By the time we started up the slope the shower had passed but not without muddying up the river.
We headed up the slope to the truck.
We talked and decided to drive upriver and see if we could find some clear water.
Well the water was messed up for a good stretch. We turned on the Forest Road 250 going up the Conejos valley. Much of the lower river is all private. There is a spot between two private spreads that looked pretty good. It’s about a 1/2 mile of water and noone was on it, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
So we pulled over and pulled out our gear. It’s a bit of a tough trail down to the water.
Once we were there Mike headed down to the lower end and I would fish from here to the fence.
Again I am using attractors. Fish are coming up to look but they were not pulling it under.
Very Frustrating !!!I was looking out in the main river when I heard a splash behind me. I turned around and saw the ringlets expanding where the attack had occurred. I looked and saw a few Brown Drakes coming off. I knew I had some March Browns in my Drake box. They were flys I bought years ago up in Montana. I’ve used them with success over the years in many different locals. So I cut off the Chubby and tied on the March Brown. I cast it about 4 feet upstream of the spot I thought the fish was hiding.
As the fly drifted past a pile of dead wood, a Brown came up and ate the fly with abandon. it was a short fight…..
Well I’m on the board here and maybe I’m on to something.
Here’s a look at the water I would be fishing……
There was a gravel bar to the left. A piece of the current came into the bank and worked around in some deeper water next to the bank. I freshened the floatant on the fly and got back to work. It was about noon, the major was starting, and I was about to find out if one could catch a number on this river.
Now looking behind that stump on the bank there was some large cobble with what appeared to be something waving in the water back at me. I sent the fly out above the stump. It curled around the stump with the current carrying it right next to that cobble on the inside. A head poked through the surface. I strip set. The rod doubled up and the water exploded. This was a Good Fish. We duked in out in close quarters. He would turn one way and I would flip the rod the other way and against him. He’d switch direction and I responded flipping the rod to counter his every move. It was a down and dirty fight. He never went far, but the struggle was intense, and the outcome undetermined. After what seemed to be a long stand-off, he finally started to tire. I popped the net loose. I reeled down and lifted the fish as much as I dared.
Scoop……………There’s you an honest 20″ Rainbow. This is the kind of fish that keeps anglers coming here. This is a Big Fish river, and not a numbers river. But being able to catch a half dozen like this in a day will keep you coming back.
Brown Drake in the corner pocket…..
Mike wasn’t close and this one was too big to try and lift with one hand, so I popped the fly out, and dipped the leading edge of the net below the water to watch him swim away.
OK !!!
I had renewed enthusiasm. I looked at the fly. It was OK too. I blew the water off and renewed the floatant again. I looked for another holding area. I found one. I didn’t see anybody home this time, but sent the fly on it’s way with hope. The fly drifted down the current seam next to the bank. Something brown came out and pulled it under. This guy had strength too. I saw the fish flopping back and forth under the water. He was trying to pop the fly loose or snap the tippet. I moderated the pressure as he struggled. With that not working he decided to head for the middle of the river. He bolted out below me and swam into the main current in the middle. I got below him and let him wear himself out there. I was in control and he tired. Working against the current and my rod was too much. It was easy to scoop him up as he came back to me.Here was a solid 19″ Brown. Thick and healthy. I tired lifting this one for a selfie, but it didn’t work out…..
As I’ve said before; one is luck, two is coincidence, three is a pattern !!!
The next fish came off the gravel bar…..
A modest Rainbow.
The fifth came at the very top…..Sometimes things start work out as you had imagined they could…..
Check out those spots……
From there I started working up the river bank above. There were plenty of boulders to provide resting and ambush spots. I was pumped now and expecting fish to come out of everyone of them. Of course they didn’t, but I was ready if they did. And some did…..
Another solid Brown…..
Most of the Browns found here sport a iridescent blue patch on their gill plates, and they were beautiful !
I could get used to this !!!Not too much further up another Brown streak out of nowhere…..
Not bad,… not bad at all !!!
I sat down on the bank. My Brown Drake was chewed up. Time to change it out for another.
Again these guys were crawling over everything.
Just for the fun of it I put on a foam Salmonfly.
I worked up this bank and finally had a decent fish commit. The struggle was brief and I had him in the net. I popped the fly out and reached for my camera. This fish had other ideas and jumped out of the net. Oh well it was much like the last one anyway. I kept working upstream and now I was at the upper fence.
Here the river was driven into the bank from the middle of the valley. You can see an eddy forming next to the slough. I knew there had to be some fish there. I cast the foam fly out and let it circle around in the eddy. I could see trout come up to look and then turn away. Several times fish looked but didn’t eat. Finally one came up and slapped at the fly. I had tension in the flyline for a moment, but only a moment.
It had been a good piece of water. I put 8 fish in the net here. That’s pretty good for this river and I was satisfied.
I turned downstream to look for Mike. As I walked down the bank I could see Mike working that same piece of water where all my catching had started. I sat down and watched for awhile, but nothing rose for him. I told him I needed to get back to camp and drive to Pagosa. It was Saturday Night and I had to check out of the condo tomorrow morning.So back to Mogote and campsite #15. I told him I was planning to go up to Wyoming, but this day had changed my plans. I would return to fish another couple of days with him here on the Conejos. If this day was any indication, we may have just hit the jackpot, and I wanted to play the string out…..
So I pulled out of Mogote and headed up La Manga Pass. All 10,230′ of it
Most of the switchbacks were marked 25mph. This place must be a horror in the winter covered with snow and ice.
Looking down into the Los Pinos basin…..On the other side the Cumbres Toltec was chugging up the pass…..
It’s one of the few steam narrow guage railroads still running…..
Then on to Chama and again turn north for the last stretch to Pagosa…..
And yes it was raining on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass…..
No surprise there…..
Jimbo
Camping on the Conejos
My friend Mike had arrived and was down at the (Mogote) Campground on the lower Conejos. He called and said the Salmonflys were everywhere and I needed to come on down and fish with him awhile.
Now I have fished the Conejos several times over the years. Below Platoro there is definitely Big Fish potential…..
But this is not a place where you can expect to catch 25 a day on drys. In fact over the years I’ve had only a few of many days where I reached double digits. Those times were during a good Green Drake hatch. We were here last June during the Salmonfly hatch. It was 10 days into the emergence when we first fished it and we did not catch a single fish on top when there were 10’s of thousands of adult Salmonflies in the air, on the water and crawling on everything else. So I did have my doubts, especially since this emergence was so late in the year.Nonetheless, Mike is a long time friend and just fishing anywhere with him would be nice. So I cleaned up my truck, did some laundry, organized my camping gear, and loaded up. The next day I would drive from Pagosa to the campground. Where that campground, not named by him at the time, was another story. Mike had said it was the first campground you came to on the Conejos. With no cellphone or internet service there was no way to get any specifics. I decided to just wing it, I mean how difficult could it be ?
Since I was still technically staying at the Wyndham I would leave a bunch of stuff in the Condo and just take what was essential.
Of course my definition of essential may be a bit more than necessary. There’s still 8 of 18 flyrods back there.
Headed down the road to the Conejos. Now Mike said it was the first campground you come to going up the Conejos. Now I assumed that was off the forest road and since there were no national forest campgrounds down low on the forest road I decided to go over Stunner Pass since it was shorter and look for him as I went down the FR.
Rain, rain, and more rain…..
Nothing like driving over a forest road that has had a lot of the dirt washed away leaving the exposed and embedded rock that will try and shake every bolt and nut loose.
Some places creeks had washed over the road…..
Over the top…..
And headed down…..
In case you forgot it’s Monsoon season…..
So now the trick was to find which campground Mike was staying in. This would result in multiple stops, getting rained on, talking to campground hosts, scratching my head, and continuing on to the next campground. So I made it all the way down to Hwy 17 without finding Mike. Now going down Hwy 17 towards Antonito and looking for campgrounds. Aspen Glade, nope….. and finally the last one Mogote. The camp host Jeff said he had a Mike staying at #15. So I drove in and sure enough there he was……
Well there you go, home for a couple of days.
Day 1
Guess how long we got to fish?So mike sleeps in the Lexus. He has a nice mattress setup in the back with the rear sets folded. For the first couple of days I would be sleeping in the storage tent. A little rearranging of the things stored there, my air mattress, and sleep bag fits right in…..
Mike had set up a tarp to cover the entrance and offer some shelter from the storms. But the wind had torn the grommets out of the corners (the orange one) and it was no longer functioning. So I went into town and purchased another tarp (the blue one). Mike also is no boy scout and his knots were more akin to tangles than something you can depend on to hold. So I showed him the basics: lashings, truckers loops, and two-half hitches to keep everything in place. Unfortunately the tarp itself was a thin cheap thing and I could see it failing also. I rolled and cut slits in the orange one and used it for a back wall. The new blue one went up overhead. Along with a couple nice pieces of willow, capped with a Gatorade bottles, and volla’…..
What it looked like when finished…..
This really is a great campsite. We had an outhouse just about 30′ away and in the other direction a potable water faucet.
Along with a big picnic table and fire ring with grill this place was SWEET !!!!
So it’s now about 11am and we are burning daylight. We had a new moon so the bite should be in the middle of the day anyway. I grabbed my Scott Radian 9′ 5wt. organized my vest with all the right fly boxes and we headed off for an access along the Hwy and in the special regulations zone. Mike had fished here with a guide a few days back and said he had caught 6 or 7. Of course Mike has an unusual method of accounting. When he says a certain number you can assume a couple of those did not actually make it to the net. Any spectacular fight that results in a fish staying pinned for 5 seconds or more may be counted as a caught fish. So you never really know. I think this is also why he never takes any pictures. He told me if he had a camera he would take some pictures of the day and even some of me, so I gave him my old camera, now used for backup. That was about 4 months ago while fishing on the Guadalupe in Texas. Best I can figure he left it in a storage unit back in Austin and I’ve only seen it used once.
So we drove down the Hwy to a pulloff he pointed out.
There we grabbed our gear and hopped over the fence. Mike confirming, “Dis is da Place!’This is at the upper end of the special reg waters so we headed downstream to a bend where they had success.
Here Mike was fishing where they had hooked most of their Trout. I looked at the water and I could see what they liked. It wasn’t long before Mike had the first fish on. This was a good one. It had his 5wt. bent into a loop. He took his time and played this fish skillfully. As it came close I could see it was a Cuttbow. After several close passes I was able to net this fish for him.
That’s one happy camper…..
I worked upstream along the bank. I was throwing my usual attractors.
I landed 3 Browns with this one being the largest….I was removing the fly when the first loud clap of thunder rolled through the valley. Sure enough a storm was rolling down the river towards us. I reeled up and watched the storm. No doubt about it, it was headed for us, and the lightning was coming down. Time to get out of here. When we got back to the truck it wasn’t even 1 pm. We’d been on the river for about 1 1/2 hours. The skys opened up and it poured for hours. Day 1 fishing was over !
Back at our camp we sat under the blue trap and drank a Malbac I’d brought. That’s part of the arrangement. He took care of the campsite and firewood expenses. I brought wine, bourbon, and extra food. The first meal was chili and chips. The night came, the clouds cleared, and this moonless night sky was amazing. We told stories and counted satellites passing overhead. I think we counted 5 that first night.
Jimbo
